Search Results (206)

Artificial gynogenesis is an essential technique for aquaculture breeding. Fertile offspring of the WuLi carp (Cyprinus carpio var. Quanzhounensis, 2n = 100, WLC) were successfully produced via gynogenesis using ultraviolet-irradiated sperm from the blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala, 2n = 48, BSB). As anticipated, gonadal section examination confirmed that all gynogenetic WuLi carp (2n = 100, GWB) were female. To investigate whether paternal DNA fragments from BSB were integrated into the GWB genome, comparative analyses of morphological traits, DNA content, chromosomal numbers, 5S rDNA sequences, microsatellite DNA markers, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), growth performance and nutritional composition were systematically conducted between GWB and maternal WLC. The results revealed pronounced maternal inheritance patterns across morphological characteristics, DNA quantification, chromosomal configurations, 5S rDNA sequences and FISH signals, while microsatellite detection unequivocally confirmed paternal BSB DNA fragment integration into the GWB genome. Remarkably, GWB demonstrated significantly superior growth performance and elevated unsaturated fatty acid content relative to the maternal line. This approach not only addressed germplasm degradation in WLC but also provided valuable theoretical foundations for breeding programs in this commercially significant species. Full article

The increasing demand for fresh fruits and vegetables has been accompanied by a rise in foodborne illness outbreaks linked to fresh produce. Traditional antimicrobial washing treatments, such as chlorine and peroxyacetic acid, have limitations in efficacy and pose environmental and worker health concerns. This study evaluated the effectiveness of organic acids (citric, malic, and lactic acid) and power ultrasound, individually and in combination, for the reduction in Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes on four fresh produce types: romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomato, and strawberry. Produce samples were inoculated with bacterial cocktails at 8–9 log CFU/unit and treated with organic acids at 2 or 5% for 2 or 5 min, with or without power ultrasound (40 kHz). Results showed that pathogen reductions varied based on the produce matrix with smoother surfaces such as tomato, exhibiting greater reductions than rougher surfaces (e.g., romaine lettuce and strawberry). Lactic and malic acids were the most effective treatments, with 5% lactic acid achieving a reduction of >5 log CFU/unit for S. enterica and 4.53 ± 0.71 log CFU/unit for L. monocytogenes on tomatoes. The combination of organic acids and power ultrasound demonstrated synergistic effects, further enhancing pathogen reduction by <1.87 log CFU/unit. For example, S. enterica on cucumbers was reduced by an additional 1.87 log CFU/unit when treated with 2% malic acid and power ultrasound for 2 min compared to malic acid alone. Similarly, L. monocytogenes on strawberries was further reduced by 1.84 log CFU/unit when treated with 5% malic acid and power ultrasound for 2 min. These findings suggest that organic acids, particularly malic and lactic acids, combined with power ultrasound, may serve as an effective hurdle technology for enhancing the microbial safety of fresh produce. Future research can include validating these treatments in an industrial processing environment. Full article

Fe³⁺-incorporated hydrogels are particularly valuable for wearable devices due to their tunable mechanical properties and ionic conductivity. However, conventional immersion-based fabrication fundamentally limits hydrogel performance because of heterogeneous ion distribution, ionic leaching, and scalability limitations. To overcome these challenges, we report a novel one-pot strategy where controlled amounts of Fe³⁺ are directly added to polyacrylamide-sodium acrylate (PAM-SA) precursor solutions, ensuring homogeneous ion distribution. Combining this with Photoinduced Electron/Energy Transfer Reversible Addition–Fragmentation Chain Transfer (PET-RAFT) polymerization enables efficient hydrogel fabrication under open-vessel conditions, improving its scalability. Fe³⁺ concentration achieves unprecedented modulation of mechanical properties: Young’s modulus (10 to 150 kPa), toughness (0.26 to 2.3 MJ/m³), and strain at break (800% to 2500%). The hydrogels also exhibit excellent compressibility (90% strain recovery), energy dissipation (>90% dissipation efficiency at optimal Fe³⁺ levels), and universal adhesion to diverse surfaces (plastic, metal, PTFE, and cardboard). Finally, these Fe³⁺-incorporated hydrogels demonstrated high effectiveness as strain sensors for monitoring finger/elbow movements, with gauge factors dependent on composition. This work provides a scalable, oxygen-tolerant route to tunable hydrogels for advanced wearable devices. Full article

The C-terminus of the BoNT/A heavy chain (BoNT/AHC) mediates binding to its receptor, SV2, a critical step for toxicity. Antibody inhibition of this interaction enhances neuronal survival. We previously identified a functional anti-BoNT/AHC nanobody, HM. To extend its in vivo half-life, we designed and prepared two Fc-optimized nanoparticles, HM-Fc5 and HM-Fc6. Structural modeling (homology/docking) of the HM Fv-AHC complex predicted that HM engages key AHC residues (Tyr¹¹⁵⁵, Phe¹¹⁶⁰, Ile¹¹⁶¹, Val¹¹⁸⁴, Asn¹¹⁸⁸, Lys¹¹⁸⁹, Glu¹¹⁹⁰), which overlap with the SV2 binding site. This suggests HM’s protective mechanism involves blocking toxin-receptor binding and cellular entry. HM-Fc5 and HM-Fc6 retained the stability and function of the parental HM antibody while exhibiting prolonged in vivo half-life. These optimized nanobodies offer economical candidates potentially enabling longer dosing intervals, beneficial for prophylaxis or chronic disease treatment. Significance Statement: The purpose of the study is to design and prepare two Fc optimized nanoparticles, HM-Fc5 and HM-Fc6, and predict the key residues involved in the interaction between HMs and AHC. The experimental results showed that HM-Fc5 and HM-Fc6 have the same stability as the parent HM antibody but have a longer half-life in vivo. The key residues Tyr¹¹⁵⁵, Phe¹¹⁶⁰, Ile¹¹⁶¹, Val¹¹⁸⁴, Asn¹¹⁸⁸, Lys¹¹⁸⁹, and Glu¹¹⁹⁰ overlap with the SV2 binding site. Our experimental results indicate that these nanobody candidates are not only more economical and convenient, but may also have longer dosing intervals, providing strong evidence and reference for prolonging the in vivo half-life of nanomaterials. Full article

This study investigated the physiological regulatory mechanisms by which exogenous trehalose intake enhances the adaptation of the global stored-grain pest T. castaneum to high-concentration carbon dioxide (CO₂) stress. By supplementing exogenous trehalose under high-CO₂ controlled atmosphere stress, we measured the activities of key detoxification enzymes (e.g., carboxylesterase and cytochrome P450) and the levels of carbohydrate substances (e.g., glycogen, glucose, and trehalose). The results demonstrated that trehalose feeding significantly alleviated CO₂ induced mortality in T. castaneum and prolonged their survival time. In terms of detoxification metabolism, a trehalose-rich diet significantly reduced the activities of cytochrome P450 and carboxylesterase, while the glucose content in the beetles decreased markedly. These findings indicate that trehalose accumulation mitigates physiological damage caused by high-CO₂ stress in T. castaneum. Furthermore, exogenous trehalose intake did not disrupt carbohydrate metabolic homeostasis in the beetles, as trehalase activity and the levels of various carbohydrates remained relatively stable. This study elucidates the role of trehalose metabolism in T. castaneum’s adaptation to high-CO₂ environments, providing a theoretical foundation for optimizing controlled atmosphere grain storage technology and developing novel pest control strategies. Full article

(1) Background: The urate-lowering effects of three iridoid glycosides, which are paederosidic acid, paederosidic acid methyl ester, and paederoside, isolated from Paederia foetida and the protection they provide against hyperuricemia-induced kidney injury were investigated in a rat model. (2) Methods: A hyperuricemia (HUA) rat model was established in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats through intraperitoneal potassium oxonate (PO) and intragastrical adenine for 2 weeks. Subsequently, rats in the pharmaceutical intervention groups received corresponding drug treatments at a concentration of 40 mg/kg/day, maintained consistently for 7 days. (3) Results: The results showed that three compounds reduced serum urate (SU), creatinine (CRE), and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels and that the urinary excretion levels of uric acid, urine urea nitrogen, and creatinine increased. Furthermore, the administration of three iridoid glycosides enhanced renal filtration capacity, as demonstrated by the elevated 24 h creatinine clearance rate (CCR) and 24 h uric acid clearance rate (CUA); improved the fraction excretion of uric acid (FEUA); and attenuated renal damage. Finally, three iridoid glycosides promoted uric acid excretion in HUA rats by downregulating URAT1 and GLUT9 and upregulating ABCG2, OAT1, and OAT3. Moreover, the molecular docking results further corroborated the finding that the three compounds can bind to multiple sites of the uric acid transporter via hydrogen, P-π, and hydrophobic bonds. (4) Conclusions: The three iridoid glycosides were found to lower SU levels by increasing uric acid excretion. They are promising natural products for the prevention of HUA and HUA-induced kidney injury. Full article

Human coronaviruses are a group of viruses that continue to threaten human health. In this study, we investigated the antiviral activity of 4-hydroxychalcone (4HCH), a chalcone derivative, against human coronavirus HCoV-OC43. We found that 4HCH significantly inhibited the cytopathic effect, reduced viral protein and RNA levels in infected cells, and increased the survival rate of HCoV-OC43-infected suckling mice. Mechanistically, 4HCH targets the early stages of viral infection by binding to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and inhibiting the EGFR/AKT/ERK1/2 signaling pathway, thereby suppressing viral replication. Additionally, 4HCH significantly reduced the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in both HCoV-OC43-infected RD cells and a suckling mouse model. Our findings demonstrate that 4HCH exhibits potent antiviral activity both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting its potential as a therapeutic agent against human coronaviruses. This study highlights EGFR as a promising host target for antiviral drug development and positions 4HCH as a candidate for further investigation in the treatment of coronavirus infections. Full article

Forensic entomotoxicology is a subdiscipline that utilizes necrophagous insects as bioindicators for detecting drugs and toxicants in decomposed remains, particularly in cases where conventional biological matrices are no longer available. Toxic substances can profoundly alter insect development, physiology, and community succession, potentially impacting the accuracy of postmortem interval (PMI) estimation. This review systematically summarizes the effects of various xenobiotics, including pesticides, illicit drugs, sedatives, heavy metals, and antibiotics on larval growth, physiological traits, and gut microbial composition in forensically relevant flies. However, most studies to date have relied primarily on phenotypic observations, with limited insight into underlying molecular mechanisms. Significant interspecies and dose-dependent variability also exists in the absorption, metabolism, and physiological responses to xenobiotics. We highlight recent advances in multi-omics technologies that facilitate the identification of molecular biomarkers associated with xenobiotic exposure, particularly within the insect detoxification system. Key components such as cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s), glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), and ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters play essential roles in xenobiotic metabolism and insecticide resistance. Additionally, the insect fat body serves as a central hub for detoxification, hormonal regulation, and energy metabolism. It integrates signals related to xenobiotic exposure and modulates larval development, making it a promising model for future mechanistic studies in insect toxicology. Altogether, this review offers a comprehensive and reliable framework for understanding the complex interactions between toxic substance exposure, insect ecology, and decomposition in forensic investigations. Full article

Background: Huang Qin Decoction (HQD) is a well-established Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) formulation recognized for its application in the treatment of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the precise therapeutic mechanisms remain inadequately defined. Methods: This study integrates metabolomics from a mouse model and network pharmacology to screen potential targets and bio-active ingredients of HQD. The pharmacological activity of HQD for CRC was evidenced via single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) assays and cellular experimental validation were used to confirm the relative mechanisms. Results: The metabolite profile undergoes significant alterations, with metabolic reprogramming evident during the malignant progression of CRC liver metastasis. Network pharmacology analysis identified that HQD regulates several metabolic pathways, including arginine biosynthesis, alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, phenylalanine metabolism, and linoleic acid metabolism, by targeting key proteins such as aspartate aminotransferase (GOT1), cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2), and carbonic anhydrase 2 (CA2). ScRNA-seq analysis indicated that HQD may enhance the functionality of cytotoxic T cells, thereby reversing the immunosuppressive microenvironment. Virtual verification revealed a strong binding affinity between the identified hub targets and active constituents of HQD, a finding subsequently corroborated by AFM assays. Cellular experiments confirmed that naringenin treatment inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion of CRC cells by downregulating GOT1 expression and disrupting glutamine metabolism. Conclusions: Computational prediction and in vitro validation reveal the active ingredients, potential targets, and molecular mechanisms of HQD against CRC liver metastasis, thereby providing a scientific foundation for the application of TCM in CRC treatment. Full article

The efficient and precise identification of urban slums is a significant challenge for urban planning and sustainable development, as their morphological diversity and complex spatial distribution make it difficult to use traditional remote sensing inversion methods. Current deep learning (DL) methods mainly face challenges such as limited receptive fields and insufficient sensitivity to spatial locations when integrating multi-source remote sensing data, and high-quality datasets that integrate multi-spectral and geoscientific indicators to support them are scarce. In response to these issues, this study proposes a DL model (coordinate-attentive U²-DeepLab network [CAU²DNet]) that integrates multi-source remote sensing data. The model integrates the multi-scale feature extraction capability of U²-Net with the global receptive field advantage of DeepLabV3+ through a dual-branch architecture. Thereafter, the spatial semantic perception capability is enhanced by introducing the CoordAttention mechanism, and ConvNextV2 is adopted to optimize the backbone network of the DeepLabV3+ branch, thereby improving the modeling capability of low-resolution geoscientific features. The two branches adopt a decision-level fusion mechanism for feature fusion, which means that the results of each are weighted and summed using learnable weights to obtain the final output feature map. Furthermore, this study constructs the São Paulo slums dataset for model training due to the lack of a multi-spectral slum dataset. This dataset covers 7978 samples of 512 × 512 pixels, integrating high-resolution RGB images, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)/Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) geoscientific indicators, and POI infrastructure data, which can significantly enrich multi-source slum remote sensing data. Experiments have shown that CAU²DNet achieves an intersection over union (IoU) of 0.6372 and an F1 score of 77.97% on the São Paulo slums dataset, indicating a significant improvement in accuracy over the baseline model. The ablation experiments verify that the improvements made in this study have resulted in a 16.12% increase in precision. Moreover, CAU²DNet also achieved the best results in all metrics during the cross-domain testing on the WHU building dataset, further confirming the model’s generalizability. Full article

Avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J), an α-retrovirus, mediates infection by binding to the host-specific receptor chNHE1 (chicken sodium–hydrogen exchanger type 1), leading to immunosuppression and tumorigenesis, which severely threatens the sustainable development of the poultry industry. Studies have shown that the tryptophan residue at position 38 (W38) of the chNHE1 protein is the critical site for ALV-J infection. In this study, we employed the CRISPR/Cas9 system to construct a lentiviral vector targeting the W38 site of chNHE1, transfected it into chicken primordial germ cells (PGCs), and validated its antiviral efficacy through ALV-J infection assays, successfully establishing an in vitro gene-editing system for chicken PGCs. The constructed dual lentiviral vector efficiently targeted the W38 site. PGCs isolated from 5.5- to 7-day-old chicken embryos were suitable for in vitro gene editing. Stable fluorescence expression was observed within 24–72 h post-transfection, confirming high transfection efficiency. ALV-J challenge tests demonstrated that no viral env gene expression was detected in transfected PGCs at 48 h or 72 h post-infection, while high env expression was observed in control groups. After 7 days of infection, p27 antigen ELISA tests were negative in transfected groups but positive in controls, indicating that W38-deleted PGCs exhibited strong resistance to ALV-J. This study successfully generated ALV-J-resistant gene-edited PGCs using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, providing a novel strategy for disease-resistant poultry breeding and advancing avian gene-editing applications. Full article

Zeugodacus cucuribitae (Coquillett) (Z. cucuribitae) is a global extremely invasive quarantine pest which has a wide host range of fruits and vegetables. At present, there are a few control measures for Z. cucuribitae, and deltamethrin and avermectin are commonly used. Among the hosts of Z. cucuribitae, Luffa acutangular, Luffa cylindrica, Sechium edule, Brassica oleracea var. botrytis, Musa nana, and Fragaria × ananassa are non-favored hosts. However, it is still not clear why these hosts are non-favored and whether there are any repellent components of Z. cucuribitae in these hosts. In this study, the components of these six hosts were collected from the literature, and the genes of odor and chemical sensation were determined from the genome of Z. cucuribitae. After the potential relationships between these components and genes were determined by molecular docking methods, the KEGG and GO enrichment analysis of these genes was conducted, and a complex network of genes vs. components vs. Kegg pathway vs. GO terms was constructed and used to select the key components for experiments. The results show that oleanolic acid (1 mg/mL, 0.1 mg/mL, and 0.01 mg/mL), rotenone (1 mg/mL, 0.1 mg/mL, and 0.01 mg/mL), and beta-caryophyllene oxide (1 mg/mL, 0.1 mg/mL, and 0.01 mg/mL) had a significant repellent effect on Z. cucuribitae, and three components, rotenone (1 mg/mL and 0.1 mg/mL), echinocystic acid (1 mg/mL, 0.1 mg/mL, and 0.01 mg/mL), and beta-caryophyllene oxide (1 mg/mL, and 0.1 mg/mL) had significant stomach toxicity in Z. cucuribitae. Furthermore, a complex signaling pathway was built and used to predict the effect of these components on Z. cucuribitae. These components probably play roles in the neuroactive ligand–receptor interaction (ko04080) and calcium signaling (ko04020) pathways. This study provides a reference for the prevention and control of Z. cucuribitae and a scientific reference for the rapid screening and development of new pest control drugs. Full article

Global population growth makes an increase in food production inevitable, and protein plays a vital role as an essential nutrient. However, as the proportion of land used for agriculture and animal protein production decreases, the search for sustainable, low-cost alternatives to proteins has become a research priority. Microalgae can synthesize a wide range of proteins, among which phycocyanin is of interest due to its unique biological activity. It has a complete amino acid profile, contains essential amino acids, and is a high-quality source of protein. Most of the existing studies have focused on single influencing factors, improved methods, or specific culture conditions for the synthesis of phycocyanin in microalgae and have not yet analyzed the culture conditions, influencing factors, and improved strategies for the synthesis of phycocyanin in microalgae in a systematic and integrated manner, and the studies lacked comprehensiveness and consistency. In this paper, the key factors, mechanisms of action, and improvement strategies affecting the accumulation of phycocyanin in microalgae are reviewed. The growth of microalgae under autotrophic, heterotrophic, and mixed culture conditions and their effects on phycocyanin synthesis were systematically described. The aim is to accelerate the application of phycocyanin in the food industry and alternative proteins by improving the production efficiency of microalgae, promoting their comprehensive utilization, and injecting a new impetus into the development of a sustainable protein industry. Full article

This work presents a novel microfabrication process that addresses the interference of thiol groups on off-stoichiometry thiolene (OSTE) surfaces with the curing of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by integrating the high-performance polymer Parylene-C. The process utilizes a Parylene-C coating to encapsulate the active thiol groups on the OSTE surface, enabling precise replication of PDMS microstructures. Based on this method, PDMS micropillar arrays and microwell arrays were successfully fabricated and applied in passive plasma separation and polymorphic crystal formation, respectively. The experimental results demonstrate that the plasma-separation chip efficiently isolates plasma from whole-blood samples with varying hematocrit (HCT) levels, achieving a separation efficiency of up to 57.5%. Additionally, the microwell array chip exhibits excellent stability and controllability in the growth of salt and protein crystals. This study not only provides a new approach for microfabricating microfluidic chips, but also highlights its potential applications in biomedical diagnostics and materials science. Full article

To investigate the effects of different processing methods on the characteristic flavor of Undaria pinnatifida, this study systematically compared the volatile flavor compositions of four sample groups, namely fresh U. pinnatifida from Dalian (WD), salted U. pinnatifida from Dalian (WY), dried U. pinnatifida from Dalian (WG), and fresh U. pinnatifida from Shantou (WS), using GC-IMS, combined with relative odor activity value (ROAV) analysis. The results showed that GC-IMS effectively distinguished the volatile profiles of samples subjected to different processing methods, identifying a total of 45 flavor compounds. Aldehydes emerged as the key flavor components, accounting for relative contents of 53.85% (WD), 41.12% (WY), 52.62% (WG), and 45.28% (WS), which were significantly higher than those of other compound classes. The ROAV analysis revealed that 1-octen-3-ol and 1-octen-3-one were the characteristic compounds shared by all four sample groups. Furthermore, distinct processing methods influenced the distribution of saturated aldehydes, esters, and furans, which could serve as key indicators to distinguish between different processing techniques. Multidimensional analysis, including GC-IMS fingerprint visualization and principal component cluster analysis, confirmed significant flavor differences among the samples from different processing methods and origins. This study provides a theoretical basis for the quality control and standardized production of algal-based foods by multidimensionally analyzing flavor evolution in U. pinnatifida during processing. Full article